Thursday, June 28, 2012

1601 Pennsylvania Avenue,
the darkness has the White House in a flurry of emergency protocols. All
security is set at high alert and they doubled the personnel on duty. High powered
lights forced shadows into retreat from all corners of the property. Surrounding offices buzzed with activity and media sources
frenzied. Everyone wanted to know what the President intended to do.

Security at the front
gates became alarmed at the sight of the suit of armor across the street. No one saw how it got there. It stood
at the edge of Lafayette Park, directly across from one of the two secured
entrances in front of the White House. The silver of the antique armor shone
brightly in the streetlights as did the metal of the old Claymore sword it held
with the tip resting against the sidewalk. Security teams scrambled and police
cars pulled in. They cordoned off the entire street from corner to corner in
order to let the swat team investigate.They assumed there may be some crazed individual within. They weren't paid to take chances.

“DROP YOUR WEAPON AND
REMOVE YOUR HELMET!” the loudspeaker blared.
No response, not even a flinch of movement. The order repeated several
times with machine rifles trained on target. News crews watched with interest
from roof tops and street corners near barricades. After some conversation, the
officers agreed that it had to be approached. Five SWAT
officers moved in with rifles ready. They covered one officer who slowly drew near the armor.
With each step they watched for the slightest movement. The armor stood like a
shop antique with the long Claymore sword’s handle and hilt held at the chest.

The closest officer
slowly brought the muzzle of his rifle up to the visor of the suit’s helmet and
still there was no movement. With the muzzle he lifted the visor and it moved
easily. Upon lifting the visor, it revealed an empty helmet. The officer let
out a sigh of relief and lowered his rifle, leaving the visor upright for
others to see. He turned to the crowd of fellow officers around him with a
smile and short laugh.

“It’s empty!”

Everyone felt the
tension release and they lowered their rifles. Some shook their heads and
wondered who thought to leave that thing standing there. The officer closest shrugged his
shoulders and then, to everyone’s shock, fell in half on the ground. The armor
moved. It had spun the Claymore in its gauntlets and swung across the officer’s
midsection so fast, no one had time to notice. An eerie and echoing laugh came
from the helmet as it reached up and slapped its visor down. The officers opened
fire with shouts of terror and panic. Bullets bounced away from the haunted
armor as it moved into their midst. The next closest officer, who emptied his
rifle at the thing, lost his head. Kevlar body armor stood no chance against
the sword and each swing dismembered and killed. One officer tried to use the
door of his squad car as a shield. The laughing armor brought down the Claymore
and cut them both in half from top to bottom. The sword even cleaved into the
asphalt on that swing, but was pulled away easily. Other officers fell back
while two officers covered with grenade launchers. The both fired and hit the
armor directly. It stepped through the smoke unscathed and still laughing.

Just outside those same
gates, right by the opening, crouched a dwarf of a man who appeared to be
frozen in terror. A man in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the secret
service men decided he couldn’t watch a defenseless man die. He opened the gate
and pulled the little man to safety.

“Just stay behind us
and we’ll protect you,” he said as he turned away from the trembling
dwarf. Because of the mayhem before
them, they missed the transformation behind them. The dwarf’s body stretched to
seven feet tall and muscles expanded and grew. White skin darkened to a deep
tan and took on the texture of smooth stone. Ears and teeth pointed and his
eyes glowed a spectral green. Clothing transformed into tight white pants with
a red sash around the waist.

“Yes, sir,” he said
with his new gravelly voice, “right behind you.”

Monolith

As the secret
serviceman turned to see the new horror, a stone hand slapped his body into a
speeding cartwheel, killing him instantly.
The stone-demon laughed as shocked men turned their guns on him and
fired in blind panic. Like his haunted partner, bullets meant nothing to him.
If anything, they made him stronger. He laughed with morbid joy as he flung a
human body hundreds of feet straight up in the air and went to battering
others.

“You know what I really
like?” he said as he grabbed a man by the top of his head. The man only
screamed in reply. The stone demon squeezed and reveled in the sound and feel
of the man’s skull caving in. “Yeah, that’s what I call fun!”

Security men flooded
into the oval office where the President’s chair faced the window.

“Mr. President, we have
to get you out of here,” said one of the men.

The chair turned to
reveal a man in a sharp blue suit. He had cropped brown hair and youthful
appearance. He was not the President of the United States. Over a dozen
handguns rose to aim at him and stopped as he held up one finger with a knowing
expression.

“What have you done
with the President?” demanded the veteran officer.

“You could say he’s in
the bag,” the young man responded, lifting a silk sack from his lap that
appeared to be empty.

“Son, you obviously
don’t know how screwed you are,”

“NO! You obviously
don’t know how screwed you are!” He stood up and trigger itching men opened
fire. As the bullets seared through the air towards him, a vortex of darkness
appeared in front of the young man, coming from the silken sack. Bullets were
pulled away to a place unseen within its confines. In moments, all the men ran
out of bullets and stood in silent terror, wondering what would happen next.
The young man held up the sack that still appeared to have nothing in it. He
drew a hand across it as if he were a magician performing for them.

“And it still appears
empty, but what’s this?” He jerked the mouth of the bag open and swept across
the room as every bullet came back and shredded the men in front of him. He walked over to and knelt by the senior
officer who choked,

“Who are you?”

“I’m the Bagman, and by
the time you take your last breath, everyone on this property will be dead or
at our disposal. Of course, the President and his family live for now,” He
pointed to the silk sack, “and they are definitely in the bag.”

The Serpent

Far out back of the
house another dwarf approached a group of soldiers. Just previously he jumped
the security fence with a short sword in each hand and began cutting down
security before they could fire a shot. He wore a tailored trench coat and a
floppy brimmed hat that never left his head. He used the swords to walk on and
do slicing cartwheels through his targets. He used agility beyond grace and
every movement proved deadly. He paused only a moment in front of the soldiers
aiming at him. Just under that floppy brim one soldier froze at the sight of
his serpentine eyes and pointed teeth of his smile. Around his collar and at
the ends of his sleeves, shadows seemed to move. Soldiers fired and he leapt
straight up into the air. He landed in the midst of them and threw his swords
outward. They didn’t strike the soldiers close up, but they didn’t have to. The
shadows in the dwarf’s clothing darted out in the form of snakelike creatures.
Their bites left no marks, but the bodies of the soldiers turned dusky gray as
life force dissolved and they all crumpled to the ground. The swords flew like
errant boomerangs and cut down every other security or soldier within thirty
yards, before returning to their owner’s hands.

In another area, a distinguished looking
gentleman approached the house with his own surrounding of soldiers as guards.
He wore a black silk suit and had white gloves on. It looked like the soldiers
were guiding him into the house, so other security stepped out of the way. Once
in the midst of most of the security for that side of the building, the man
stopped walking, and so did his escorts. As if on practiced cue, the soldiers
all turned away from him and opened fire on their co-workers, killing them all
without time for response. Once the deed was done, the man stepped out from the
circle of them and surveyed the scene. He turned to them.

“Good, you may kill
yourselves now.” As he entered the White House, they obeyed with a few final
shots.

The Bagman welcomed his comrades by name; Silvercrow the
haunted armor, Monolith the stone-demon, Serpent the blade wielding acrobat,
and Hypnotist the mind controller. All across the grounds bodies lay in silent
gore. The visual aftermath brought all other forces to a standstill at the
gates. These five people took the White House with the effort of child’s play.
No one knew what to do next. How did five men become so powerful that an army
could not stand against them?

Years ago, they were
very different men, but bent on evil schemes all the same. They drove out along
the highways of Oregon, near Salem until they found a lone hitch hiker. They
invited their new friend to a party at a campsite with promises of good times
and beautiful women. Once they reached this supposed site, the hitch hiker
found a huge pentagram etched into the earth with strange symbols all around.
At each point of the star he saw a seating place for one of the five men. He
tried to escape, but they overpowered him. They tied him up and tossed him into
the center of the pentagram. They poured gasoline on him and lit him on fire.
They took their five positions and shouted incantations over the hitch hiker’s
screams to the sky. Something appeared to them, that fateful night, but it
wasn’t what they expected. Still, the evil that appeared to them gave them
great power, for eternal service. One of them became cursed when he questioned
the being that appeared. The ancient god, Set, forever trapped him as a spirit
in haunted, but enchanted armor. The act of this curse, kept the other four
from questioning and they became the beasts that took the White House after
darkness shrouded the world.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

“YEEOOW!
That actually hurt!” Anubis’s eyes glowed with rage and emitted a beam the blew
the weapon to pieces and threw the shooter down the alley. Instinctively Anubis
also put a hand up and created a barrier of energy to block the explosion from
himself and Nightfall.

“That’s
one of Zombie’s henchmen. Are you okay?” Nightfall asked.

“Yeah,
I’m okay. That must have been one of the weapons they used on the police
stations. But what’s with the dorky motorcycle helmets?”

“You’ll
find those pretty hard to crack, well, maybe you will.”

Suddenly
a dumpster came racing at the two of them, but Anubis stopped it with one hand.

“Wow,
he’s back up fast and throwing trash. Well, here buddy, right back at ya!”
Anubis shoved the dumpster back hard. It hit the henchman and carried him into
the side of a parked car with a crash. Glass flew and metal crumpled, pinning
the henchman in a sandwich of steel.

Anubis
and Nightfall watched as the man pushed the dumpster off himself and shoved it
out of the way. He pulled himself out of the crippled wreck of the car and came
toward them again.

“Gotta
hand it to these guys, they can take some punishment,” Anubis said

“Do
you think you can capture him without destroying him?” Nightfall asked.

“Say
what?”

“We
might be able to learn something from him on examination or take him to someone
who can.”

“Oh
fine, oops, hang on,” Anubis blocked a punch from the henchman, picked him up
and threw him back at the wrecked car.

“I’m
sure glad you’re strong enough to deal with it,” Nightfall said, remembering
her encounter before they left her to burn.

“Yeah,
well it’s clear how they’re too much for the police to handle. Let me think
now. Hey, is that a tow truck over there?”

Out
of the alley and across the street, they could see a tow truck parked near some
cars. People who heard the fight were at a distance, but watching.

“Okay,
let’s see how good my golf swing is,” Anubis flew at the henchman with his
lance and swung at an upward arc. The body of the man sailed through the air and
cracked bricks in the wall when he hit. As intended, he landed near the tow
truck.

Before
the henchman could get back on his feet again, Anubis flew high over and threw
down his bladed lance. It pierced his target through the chest and into the
sidewalk. As Anubis figured, the henchman still moved and struggled to free
himself. Anubis landed on the tow truck. He gripped the housing for the long
metal cable meant to tow vehicles and peeled it apart in his fingers. He reached in and pulled out the wheel that the cable was wrapped up on. He felt
sorry for whoever owned this truck, but this was now a chaotic world and the
need was great.While the henchman was
still pinned, Anubis started at the man's feet and wrapped his legs in the tow cable.
The henchman swung at him but Anubis caught his hands and bound those to his
chest, wrapping the upper torso in the rest of the cable. Anubis made it tight
and when the end of the cable came along, he held it to the rest. Much like
when he repaired the baby carriage, he fused the metal together. Then Anubis
pulled out his lance and grabbed the henchman up to his feet. For a few
moments, he watched the bound man struggle to no avail.

“Good,
there’ll be no more trouble out of you for a while.”

“You
put your lance right through his chest,” Nightfall said.

“And
yet he’s still struggling,” Anubis said.

Further
down the street two men observed the whole ordeal in awe.

“Hey,
Jake, isn’t that your tow truck he just tore up?”

“What
am I supposed to do? Go tell him 'no'? Look at him, you idiot, he can have my tow truck!”

Anubis
put the struggling henchman over a shoulder. He and Nightfall walked back through the
alley toward the precinct.

********

Blacktide

Sandstorm
and Electrode were the first to arrive at Powers Hospital. It took another
hour for Redeagle and Atomizer to pull up in the truck.

“Good
to see you made it,” Electrode said.

“We
aren’t mobile like you two and there’s a lot of wreckage to get around,”
Redeagle said.

“Hey,
just kidding.”

“So
who are we here to see?” Atomizer asked.

“We
are here to see Larry Peters, but maybe you’ve heard of his street name,
Blacktide,” Sandstorm said.

“Almost.
He committed himself here to protect others from his powers. His problem is
control of his powers. I tried to help him once before but he had a lot of
trouble believing he could gain control.”

“Do
you really think he’s a good choice?” Atomizer asked.

“I
think he’s an excellent choice, especially in these conditions. Look, beggars
can’t be choosers. Just give him plenty of space. I think just two of us should
go in and that should be Agent Redeagle and myself.”

“Okay,”
Atomizer sat down on a bench, “Good luck, partner.”

The
two men went into the hospital and Sandstorm led Redeagle to the psychiatric
wing.

“Larry
lives in a very special cell of plastic surrounded by thousands of gallons of
water,” Sandstorm explained, “There’s a secondary measure of chloroform gas
hooked up to the ventilation system in case of any loss of control.”

“Seriously?”
Redeagle doubted this choice the more he heard about it.

“He
can’t disintegrate liquids or gasses. That’s why you are going to stay at the
airlock door and listen in while I talk to him. Unless of course you can change
your shape into water, like me?”

“No,
I can’t. This is your deal and I’m following your lead.”

“Good
idea.”

“Are
you sure you want to see him?” an orderly at the airlock asked.

“Yes,
as always,” Sandstorm answered, “We don’t have a lot of time.”

The
orderly shook his head and let Sandstorm through the airlock door. Redeagle watched in concern as the door clanked shut so a second door could open. Sandstorm walked through it calmly.

The orderly looked up to Redeagle's face, "You're smart for not going in there." "Gee thanks. Is there any way I can see what's going on in there?" The orderly switched on a monitor next to the airlock door. "Good. I'll let you know if I need any more of your enthusiastic help."

Larry,
known as Blacktide, lay back on a wide plastic shelf from the wall that had a
mattress on it.In one corner of the
room was a metal commode built in so he never had to leave the room for
anything. He even had his own sink to wash at and a shower with a built in
floor drain. His dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but Sandstorm knew those
eyes were on him from the start, even through strands of the long blonde hair.
Blacktide wore a gray tank top and jeans. A pair of heavy biker’s boots were
on the floor nearby. On a nearby table there were scattered magazines about
motorcycles. Blacktide said nothing as Sandstorm stood in the middle of the
room.

“How
is your exile treating you? Is this helping you to control your powers?”
Sandstorm asked.

“I
control them or die. What do you think?” Blacktide didn't move at all as he spoke.

“I
think you should consider something else.”

“We’ve
been over this before. Too many people have died from my power.”

“Do
you know what’s going on outside?”

“I’ve
heard about it.”

“There’s a new task force being
formed. We could use your help.”

“You
know I don’t work well in a team. I’m too dangerous.”

“Whatever
is doing this out there is more powerful than anything I’ve ever faced. The
city is without police protection and it’s getting worse. I know you care too
much to let that go by.”

“It’s
true. Come on, I know if we try again, you can control your power. You aren’t
committed here beyond your own choice. Come with us.”

Larry
stood up and looked around at his confines. He bit his lower lip in thought and
deliberated for a long time while Lombard waited patiently. He stared at the
airlock and then the floor.“I guess I’ll
put my boots on.”

“That’s
the way.” Lombard smiled.

The
staff acted almost relieved to let Larry go and didn’t even try to question
Redeagle’s authority or the fact that Blacktide wanted to leave.

“Good
to meet you, I’m Agent Ray Redeagle,” he offered his hand.

“Get
this straight right now. I don’t shake hands and don’t touch me even if it
looks like my life depends on it.”

“Fair
enough,” Ray said and they all left for the FPA building.

Blacktide
went to the storage garage on site and got out his motorcycle. As he kicked it
on and rolled away, he had to admit, it felt good to feel the wind in his hair
again.

When
they came into the briefing room, Larratus waited for them. Anubis and
Nightfall were there too. They had brief introductions and exchanged information. Larry "Blacktide" Peters, kept his distance in the meeting room. Once pleasantries were past, Larratus started talking.

“While
you boys were out, Anubis here brought us a little gift. He caught one of the
gunmen. We can’t make him talk, but our lab is running some tests on
him. The little lady has told us all we could want to know about Professor
Zombie, the man behind the police station attacks. Nightfall, would you care to fill them in?" Commander Larratus put up a photo of an obese man with a white beard and balding head. "That's the ugliest Santa Claus I've ever seen," Anubis remarked and got a sharp elbow from Nightfall. "Thank you, Commander. Everyone, Professor Zombie is a genetics and robotics genius. Don't let his "fat man" looks deceive you. He's half cyborg underneath it. The Professor has developed a serum that makes anyone into an undead servant. They can take lethal damage and keep coming at you, so be very careful. Zombie has them wearing some body armor and helmets designed to be almost unbreakable. I don't know how many men he has, but clearly it's enough to be an army versus the police of NewYork." "What about the weapons?" Redeagle asked. "Those are not the Professor's work, so I expect there's still someone else behind this. The darkness is also beyond his capabilities." Commander Larratus spoke again, "We need to find out where
he’s hiding and bring him in. As for his men, you are authorized to dispose of them at will. Now I have a little something for you from our tech boys,” Larratus stopped for a breath and drag on his
cigar, “These cell phones are virtually indestructible and resist most
parahuman powers. You can call each other from anywhere on Earth and maybe even
the moon and get a perfect signal. They aren’t blocked by this darkness either.
They have a few other tricks but I’m going to let you learn those on the go
with the built in tutorials. Each of you take a phone and welcome to the task
force called PAC. It stands for Parahuman Activity Commission.”

“I
will not be joining your team, but I will be happy to help out,” Anubis said.
“My powers were given to me in order to find those who may combat this terror.
I believe I have done this. Now we will deal with it together.”

“You
didn‘t tell me about that. Who gave you your power?” Nightfall asked.

“Destiny
is a Lord Entity, much more powerful than a god,” Nightfall explained.

“Okay,
great, well we can get to explanations of that later, I’m sure. Agent Redeagle,
give us a roster check and let’s get to finding Zombie.”

“Okay
guys, checking off our roster for this mission. Lombard Ogleson is Sandstorm.
Scott McCross is Electrode. Larry Peters is Blacktide, Hakim is Anubis and
Nightfall is all we know of the lady. Jason Marigold is the Atomizer and I’m
Redeagle. Now we just need a plan of action.”

“In
order to hit all those precincts at once, he has to have several bases of
operations across the city. That’s a lot to supply and organize. Electrode and
I know of someone who might have information on an operation like that. We’ll go and talk
to him. The rest of you should split up and try to find the locations of those
supply points. They shouldn’t be far from the precincts. Maybe if we wipe them
out, we’ll get Zombie’s attention,” Sandstorm said.

“Then
I’m going out to search on my own, I’ll let you know if I find anything,” said
Blacktide.

“Nightfall
and I will go together. We already make a pretty cool team,” Anubis gave a sly
smile and Nightfall gave him another elbow shove.

“Okay,
then Atomizer and I will go as a team. And I'd like to make a nomination for our team leader. I think that
should be Sandstorm, he has the most experience of us all.”

“Well,
whatever is up there is really strong. I flew up and crashed into it. It’s
weird, like there’s something solid there but you can’t feel anything when you
touch it.”

“Exactly. Now if we just knew
who made it, because the Professor isn't capable of that.”

“So
what do we do now? That is, if it’s okay that I join forces with you?”

“That’s
fine by me, but I think we need to find some local help. We have to find
Professor Zombie, but I doubt the police will know where to find him.”

“I
may just have an idea then,” Anubis gave a toothy grin. “Do you mind if I carry
you and we fly?”

Nightfall
smiled, she didn't mind at all.

********

It
wasn’t easy to get around, even in Atomizer’s pickup truck with four wheel
drive. The streets were cluttered with cars that still needed to be moved. Progress was slow. They had to stop a few times so Redeagle could get out and shove something
out of the way. They also stopped if they saw anyone in need or danger. One person was stuck in there car from an accident. Another person was pinned against a wall by a car from another accident. It took twice as long as it normally would to
get from the office to the house of Lombard Ogleson.

As
they got out of the truck, Redeagle said, “You do know that there will be phone
calls on you driving through people’s yards right?”

“Sure,
if they can get through. Besides, we needed to get here right? And do you think
we’ll get burned under the circumstances?”

“No.
I’m just pointing it out to make sure you’re ready for it if it happens,”
Redeagle said, “So, here we are. Lights are on inside. Do you want to knock or
should I?”

“Well,
you know, partner, you are big and imposing and I’m more classy and refined.”

“Oh
you're funny as usual.”

“No
really, I’ll knock on the door because I’m just
friendlier in appearance. You know what I mean.”

They
approached the front steps.

“Fine,
I’ll stand down here, you go ahead,” Redeagle said.

“How
about neither of you do anything?” Came a voice and the two men felt the hair
on the backs of their necks stand up. Their skin tingled as a static electric
charge filled the air.

Electrode

A
few feet off to the left as they faced the front door, stood a young man in a
blue bodysuit. He had rough blonde hair that seemed to glow as arcs of
electricity danced between his blue eyes. More electricity arced around his body. Before either man could say anything, the young man vanished
and appeared on the other side of them, just a couple yards away.

“Don’t
even think about moving on me or that house. I’m faster than both of you could
imagine.” And to make his point, he reappeared back in the first spot he stood
in.

“You
mean you’re here to harass my friend into working for you again.”

“Hey,
look around,” Redeagle said, “The world is in serious trouble.”

“I
think we can handle whatever is out there,” the highly charged man said with a grimace.

“It’s
okay Electrode,” a new disembodied voice floated from up on the porch. The men
watched as the body of Lombard Ogleson materialized out of the air. He stared
down hard at Atomizer and Redeagle, “I think we can listen to what they have to
say.”

“Can
we come in?” Redeagle asked, “If we could just sit down and talk, we’ll explain
ourselves.”

Sandstorm
nodded and led them inside. They all found a place to sit in the living room
and Sandstorm regarded them with a nod, “I know why you’re here. You’re here to
recruit me because of what’s going on. Are you CIA?”

“They
employ people with special abilities to back up law enforcement anywhere in the
country. Mostly they back up FBI and US Marshals,” Sandstorm answered.

“That’s
correct,” Redeagle said, “You know, I could say your country needs you, but I
think I can save that speech. The whole world needs help. We need you and your
powers to help us find out what’s going on. This situation has triggered a
special protocol for recruitment of the best we can find. You and your friend,
you’re a perfect start. So let’s not mess around with sales pitches and banter.
Let’s get right to the question. Will you help us?”

“I’m
in if he’s in,” Electrode said, “and only if he’s in.”

“Well,
I’ve felt the damage that this is rapidly causing and there’s no doubt to me
that you need help. What I don’t know is where to start, so if there’s any
intel out there, we’ll need it.”

“Our
office is working on that right now,” Atomizer said. “Do you know of anyone
else who could help us? We seriously need to find anyone we can. Yours was the
only file we were given.”

Sandstorm laughed, "In all of New York, they only had my file to suggest to you?"

"Like I said," Redeagle replied, "Only the very best or most powerful, if you prefer." "Well, there may be one we could talk to. He may be tough to reach."

“Where
is he?” Redeagle asked.

“He’s
in Powers Psychiatric Hospital. We should go there next.”

********

Anubis landed with
Nightfall in an alley across from the police precinct that stood next to the
FPA. It was their third stop at a wrecked police station.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Commander
Henry P. Larratus was a serious, heavy set, and gruff man. Whenever he got
agitated his high balding forehead would turn bright red
and a couple veins would stand out. He got agitated often. Henry knew his cigar habit and daily
whiskey regimen weren't helping his health, but at this point they were the
only things keeping him sane. Commanding the Federal Protection Agency was a
very stressful job, but someone or something out there didn't think it was
stressful enough. The world plunged in darkness and a city full of wrecked police
departments had Henry’s stress meter working overtime.

Commander
Larratus leaned on a podium and stared at a blank doorway from the front of the
briefing room. He clenched his teeth. No one could ever move fast enough for
Commander Larratus. If two particular bodies didn't come through that door
soon, he was going to have a coronary. Finally, Atomizer and Agent Redeagle
came through the door and the Commander banged his fist on the podium.

“Do
either of you know what the word emergency means?” Commander Larratus shouted, “Never
mind, sit down and shut up. We've got the most serious business this side of
World War 2 going on!”

Neither
man said a word as they sat down. They both knew this
was just Commander Larratus and his way. Saying nothing about it and just doing
the job were always the best idea.

“I
trust you two have been next door?” the Commander said.

“We
have,” Redeagle answered.

“That
is the condition of every police precinct in New York city right now. Cameras didn't catch much but their weapons emitted enough light that we did get some
views of what they were wearing. Take a look at these photo printouts.” The Commander
tossed pictures to both men, “We are going to go out on a limb and assume that
the field of darkness and their attack are not coincidence. What’s worse is
that the dark is worldwide. The attacks, however, are not. We have no idea why
that is. What we do know about this phenomenon is that it’s blocked all forms
of radar. Every airport in the world is effectively frozen. We have no way of
communicating with our satellites or seeing what is up there. Cell phones are
useless, but land lines work fine.”

“So what do we do?”
Atomizer asked as he looked over the photos. “Start looking for these shooters?”

“Not just yet. Gentlemen,
right now this is being considered worse than the worst case disaster scenario.
In the case that an event of the worst scenario occurs, we have an emergency
protocol. It’s called the Emergency Draft Protocol and your first assignment
will be to execute it.The idea is to
recruit the people with the biggest, baddest powers that we know of. While
there are some registered parahumans that are signed up to be on call, we only want
a certain crew, handpicked if you will. Unfortunately, I have just one file for
you. You need to talk to this man. Lombard Ogleson worked for the CIA and quit
a few years ago. He ran missions to Vietnam to retrieve P.O.W.s. He also did a
lot of search and destroy missions.Rumor is that he’s become a vigilante. You find him and see if you can
get him to come back. See if he can connect us with any other parahumans that
might be interested. If you really need something to motivate them, tell them
it’s going to be the end of the world anyway. They have nothing to lose. There
have also been reports of a newcomer to the city; a guy with the head of a dog,
flying around healing and helping people. See if you can locate him and find
out what he’s about. From what we've seen, he isn't part of the problem.
There’s just one more thing I want you to know about Lombard Ogleson, don’t
tick him off. He may not be long on patience because of the conditions he quit
under. It’s all in his file. Any questions?”

“Yeah, boss, I have a
question. I’m looking at his list of powers here and I wonder, if we should
happen to make him mad, what do you suggest we do?” Redeagle asked.

Larratus rubbed his
face with both hands and sighed long and loud. “Just don’t make him mad, okay?
If you do, you might not be back.”

“Commander, have there
been any demands?” Atomizer asked.

“No, and we find that
particularly disturbing. Now get out of here!”

********

Lombard Ogleson stood
in his backyard, surrounded by privacy fence and stared up into the darkened
sky.He moved some of his sandy brown
hair back over one ear and strained to listen. He could feel deep within
himself that this was more than just an absence of light. There was no wind and
the temperature was already ten degrees cooler. Even from standing in his
backyard, he could feel the thing above his world, he could feel its
effects on the land around him. Lombard could feel these things because he was
the most powerful elemental man on Earth. He walked as one with elements
and the patterns of weather anywhere he went. In the CIA his codename was Sandstorm.

Lombard walked back
into his house and turned on the television. Most broadcasts were disabled with
exception of local channels by cable transmission. News reports permanently
took over all that were left.

“There’s still no
reason given or found for the darkness covering the Earth. Reports of police
station attacks have come from all across the New York area. Meanwhile, looting
clashes with vigilante justice and the Mayor calls for a State of Emergency.
All remaining police have been called to duty. So far the President has had no
comment, but we eagerly await some statement from the White House. A new hero was spotted in New York today as he
healed frightened people on Staten Island. Bystanders report that he was scary
at first because he has the head of some form of dog. The hero has been
unavailable for comment. Witnesses say he calls himself Anubis.”

Lombard snorted at the
report, “It’s the head of a jackal, you idiots.” He turned off the television. “And
I really doubt the President can do a blessed thing.”

Lombard sat in his
favorite easy chair and stared at the silent television set. He knew someone
would be coming. They would want him to come back. While he had no idea if he
wanted to work for the government again, he definitely planned on doing
something about the situation.

********

Nightfall

A fire crew scrambled
into action as the flames licked toward the sky from the two story warehouse in
the Bronx. They bombarded the building with heavy streams of water from five
trucks. The fire defied them and ate away at the structure with
abandon.Lead firemen yelled orders over
the sound of gushing water and hissing steam. Smoke spiraled into the darkness.
One of the firemen took a second to look up toward the darkness and found
Anubis hovering over him.

“Dear God,” the fireman
murmured just loud enough to hear.

“Not quite, the name’s
Anubis. Is there anyone inside?”

“We aren't sure. We
can’t get close enough.”

“Okay, you can stop
staring at me and get back to the fire. I’m going in to look around.”

“But the fire,” the man didn't have time to finish as Anubis darted through a broken set of windows.

The flames licked at
him but did not burn him. He suspected he might be resistant to fire.

“Bulletproof and
fireproof too, very handy.”

The warehouse was filled with burning crates
and towers of fire loomed all around him. Suddenly, he could sense two things;
the weakening of the structure and a rapid heartbeat that wasn't far away.

“Far out.” He mused over his recognition of
this power and dashed through the obstacle course of voracious flames.At first, he stopped stunned at the sight of
her. He had never seen such a beautiful blonde woman before. He snapped back to
reality when he saw the metal beam lying across one of her legs.In a millisecond he knelt over her. He barely
gave her shocked expression a second glance as he grasped the metal beam and
lifted it away. After tossing it aside with a loud clank, he stooped to look at her broken leg. She couldn't pull it away as he lay his glowing hands upon it. Bones knit back
together and gashes sealed under shredded clothing. Her expression went from
anxiety to amazement and he lifted her from the floor.

“Is there anyone else
in here?” Anubis asked her.

“No, they left me to
die.”

“Well that’s not going
to happen today.” He
thought of his revenge in the desert and the fire he summoned to engulf the
terrorists.“I wonder if I can reverse
the process.”

“Reverse what process?”

He ignored the question
as he concentrated on the flames. From him there came a wave of blue calm that
washed through the building and the flames died away in its wake.

“Wish I thought of that
sooner. Well, let’s get out of here.”He
lifted to the air and flew her out of the building through another window. As he
flew he felt her touch the side of his face. When he noticed, she jerked her
hand back, surprised at her own curiosity. He landed near the fire trucks.

“Can you stand?”

“I think so.”

He set her on her feet
gently and finally took in the sight of her. Her eyes were a deep green and her
hair gave her a kind of glow, even without the sun. She wore a bodysuit of blue
that seemed like a uniform. The one pant leg was shredded and her face
was patched with soot. Even so, he thought she was gorgeous. She studied his face
with deep interest and then he realized why.

“I guess you never met
a dog like me before?”

She smiled, “Don’t you
mean a jackal? Anubis has the head of a jackal.”

“Hey, you’re good. Of
course, I’m not the real Anubis. I was remade in his image.”

“I had no questions.
You really scared me at first, but now I’m grateful. Thank you for saving me.”
She brushed her hand to the side of his face.

When she touched him he
felt his heart flutter. Then a wave of guilt washed over him. How could he feel
this way after losing Ella? He only just lost her. He decided to try and change
the subject.

“Oh, you’re welcome.
Who left you in there?”

“They had on dark
helmets and I couldn't see their faces. There were just too many and they had
some high tech weapons. I guess they didn't want to leave any witnesses.”

A fireman interrupted
them, “Hey, did you put that fire out?”

“Oh, yes I did. Sorry I didn't do it sooner, I just didn't think of it. I’m still learning all my
powers.”

“Well, you’re awesome
in our book. Thanks a lot.” The men clapped and cheered.

“Great thanks, guys.”
Anubis looked around quickly, she wasn't there.

Back behind the
building she stood, scrutinizing some of the burnt structure.

“Leaving so soon?”
Anubis asked as he landed next to her.

She smiled sweetly,
“Sorry, but I had to get back here.”

“Well, you just
answered my next question anyway.”

“What’s that?”

“Why you counted as a
witness to them. You’re with some law enforcement and they caught you. I
thought that your jumpsuit looked like a uniform, but I don’t recognize it.” He
looked at her pant leg and noted that it looked as good as new. “Hey, how’d you
change so fast?”

“I didn't, they’re self-repairing.”

“Wow, okay, you need to
tell me more. What’s going on here? Why didn't those guys just kill you with
their high tech weapons?”

“Because the Professor
wanted to punish me.”

“The Professor?”

“Yes, Professor Zombie.
He’s who I was investigating. We hoped to stop him, but we’re too late.”

“Nice name, is he the
cause of that?” Anubis pointed to the sky.

“No, but we think he
knows who is. I hoped to use my power on him and find out once I caught him.”

“You have a power? Why didn't you get out?”

“You’re so cute,” she
laughed slightly. “It’s not that kind of power. I’m called Nightfall because I
can cause mental blackouts by skin contact. While I have a person knocked out I
can read their thoughts. Zombie’s men grabbed me before I could get close
enough.”

“Oh, sorry. I don’t
know a lot of powers except for my own and the ones I read about in the paper.”

“And you don‘t know
your own that well.” She teased.

“Okay, okay. So tell me
more about the Zombie.”

“He was a brilliant
scientist; a true genius in his fields of genetics, robotics, and medicine. He
worked in Africa to cure diseases that were mutating. As the story goes, he
caught a flesh eating virus that he was trying to cure in a village. In order
to save himself, he had to cut off his arm and part of both of his legs. He
stopped all work at that village and went into seclusion. He built himself cybernetic
replacements and something in him changed. He didn't want to save any one
anymore. He wanted to rule them instead. So he created what he called, the
Immortality Formula to make people serve him.”

“That’s incredible. So
his people are immortal?”

“In a manner of
speaking. They’re immortal, but they aren't exactly alive anymore either. He
started with the village that gave him the virus and moved on to countless
others. No one has been able to get close to him since.”

Anubis thought he would
be sick. “That’s why he’s called Professor Zombie.”

“Exactly.”

“So how do you stop
them? Is it like the old horror movies?”

“We don’t know, but
they all wear motorcycle helmets, so maybe you’re on to something. I do know
that my power doesn't work on them.”

“How twisted. He doesn't deserve to be called a Professor. So, who are you with?”

“My team is called
Caliber 5, we’re with Interpol.”

“International Police?”

“Um, actually, that’s
Intergalactic Police.”

“Wha?”

“Yes, it’s called
Council Interpol. It’s actually rare that we get involved in planetary matters,
but we found evidence that this could be bigger than Earth itself.” She looked
up to the dark sky. “We were right.”

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About Me

I am an advocate for autism now sharing my own fantasy universe to show just what people can do in spite of limitations (like my hands). I'm writing an ongoing story on my blogspot, have a facebook fanpage and more. I have one novel being considered by agents.

I want to network and learn with other artists and writers. I also just want to share.